


Glad to be Home

by Jekkah



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:20:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24416503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jekkah/pseuds/Jekkah
Summary: After her divorce, JJ gets a surprise visit from her former boss
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Jennifer "JJ" Jareau
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	Glad to be Home

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: Guess who’s back??? No one is more surprised than me, but this little one shot just wouldn’t leave me alone! I hope anyone still reading JJ/Hotch enjoys! I’ve missed our little corner of fandom.

“Have you heard anything?” 

JJ cringed as she heard Rossi attempt to hold in a sigh. It was a question that she had asked him every day for the past week, even as she knew what the answer was going to be. Still, she had to hope.

“Nope, nothing,” Rossi told her. “I promise that I’ll let you know if I hear from him.”

JJ released a long breath. “I know. I’m sorry.”

She could hear Rossi rubbing his face with his hand. “Jayje… you need to stop obsessing over this. I’m sure that they - that he’s - fine.”

“No, yeah, I know.” She grimaced. “I’m sorry I bothered you.”

“It’s no bother.” He hesitated. “Maybe you should-”

Yelling from the living room distracted her and she shouted a quick good-bye to Rossi. JJ hurried to the room to find her 12 and 6 year-olds in battle over a controller to the video game consol. JJ felt a flash of anger over the gaming system that she had adamantly been against, but that her ex had insisted he would use to keep in touch with the boys after his move. He had used it twice, preferring phone calls and video chats and she was left with an instrument of fierce fights.

“What have I told you about fighting over that game?” JJ growled at them.

Henry huffed. “That we won’t be allowed to play it. But Mom, he-”

JJ held her hands up. “I don’t want to hear it.” She rolled her eyes when the doorbell rang, but was silently thankful that it shut her pre-teen up. JJ flung the door open expecting a package, but instead a tall, dark haired man stood on the other side. JJ gasped.

“Hi, JJ.”

“Hotch?” she whispered, taking a timid step forward. “Hotch!” JJ leapt forward, throwing her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She hugged him tightly. “I’m so excited that you’re here that I’m not even going to be embarrassed that I did that.”

Hotch chuckled, tightening his arms around her. “I’m so excited to be here that I won’t be embarrassed either.”

JJ climbed down when she heard a snicker behind Hotch. She peeked around him to see a much taller Jack Hotchner. “Get yourself over here, Jack!”

“Hi Miss JJ,” Jack mumbled into her shoulder. “I’ve missed you.”

“We’ve missed you, too,” JJ assured him, cradling his face. “Come in, come in!” She reached out and grabbed Hotch’s hand, leading him to the couch while the boys greeted each other. It wasn’t long before the boys were deep into a discussion on video games, talking as if they hadn’t been separated the last nearly five years apart. JJ locked her fingers through Hotch’s, sitting so that their knees touched. “What are you doing here? How long are you here for?”

Two red spots appeared on Hotch’s cheeks. “We’re moving back so we’re here permanently.”

JJ’s head whipped between Hotch and Jack. Jack smiled and nodded. “I really liked my new school and the new house, but I also missed my aunt and Grandpa and you guys and I was tired of Dad being all mopey all the time.”

“I was not being mopey all the time!” Hotch protested. He ducked his head when JJ squeezed his hand in support.

“Sure, Dad, that’s why you would stare forlornly at the BAU picture every day and sigh.”

“Forlornly?” JJ mouthed to Hotch, who shrugged. He was used to Jack’s expanded vocabulary. 

Jack smirked at Henry. “His gaze always seemed to stop on one particular-”

“Jack!” Hotch snapped. “Didn’t you have something that you wanted to show Henry?”

“That’s Dad for ‘if you don’t shut your trap, you’re going to be grounded’,” Jack told Henry, who chuckled. “But I did want to show you a cheat I found in World of Wizardcraft. It opens this whole new secret world.”

Henry grinned. “Come on. We can use the computer in my room.”

JJ studied Hotch as the two older boys took off for Henry’s room. “So, just who was it that you couldn’t stop staring at? Was it Rossi? I bet it was Rossi. You two always did have this crazy closeness and you did coach Jack’s soccer team.”

“Funny.” Hotch glanced down at Michael, who was staring up at him, solemnly. “Yes?”

“Who are you, Mr. Man?” Michael demanded.

Frowning, JJ reprimanded, “Michael, watch your tone. This is my friend, Mr. Hotch. He knew you when you were a baby.”

Michael’s face brightened. He loved to talk about himself as a baby. “Oh! Did you meet me in the hospital? Was I the cutest baby that you ever saw? Mama says I was one of the three cutest that she ever saw, but I think she’s just being nice to the others.”

“Sorry, his favorite thing to do is talk about himself.”

“It’s fine,” Hotch assured her. He motioned for Michael to sit next to him. “I did meet you in the hospital. In fact, I was the one that took your mama to the hospital.” He shared a look with JJ. “It’s funny because I was the one that took your mama to the hospital when Henry was born, too.”

Michael’s mouth hung open. “Did you deliver us?”

Hotch blushed while JJ burst out laughing. “No. No, no. But I was outside in the waiting room when you were born. And I was the third one to hold you both after you mom and dad.”

“My daddy moved away,” Michael informed him. “But we gets to talk to him on the phone and on video and the next time that we go to visit him, we gets to meet his new girlfriend.” Michael paused before his face grew wide. “That means that next time Mama has a baby that you have to be there since Daddy won’t be!”

JJ rubbed her forehead with the head not latched to Hotch’s. “Michael, I’m not having another baby.”

Michael did a perfect imitation of his mother while rubbing his own forehead. “Then, how am I supposed to get my baby sister, Molly?”

“Why don’t you go see what your brother and Jack are up to?” As he skipped out of the room, she added, “Before I kill you.”

“So, Jayje,” Hotch snickered, “I didn’t know you were having a little girl.”

She ran her hands through her hair. “Apparently, one named Molly!” She sighed. “Oh, that kid. He has such a crazy imagination. I have no idea where he got this obsession with having a baby sister named Molly, but he’s talking about it for months. So much so that I had to ask Will if he was having a baby with his new girlfriend. Do you have any idea how awkward it is to ask your ex if he knocked up his new girlfriend?”

Hotch settled into the couch. “Thankfully, no. Of course, I don’t have very many exes.”

“No? None recently?”

“I-” Hotch was interrupted by his phone ringing. He apologized to JJ before answering. “Hey, Rossi.”

“Hotch, where have you been?”

Hotch shot JJ an amused glance. “I’ve been travelling.”

“So, everything’s okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. In fact-”

“Would you please call JJ? She has been driving me nuts not hearing from you!” Rossi groaned. 

A quick look at JJ’s reddening face let Hotch know that JJ was hearing every word from Rossi.

“Look, I have to run. But do me a favor and call JJ!”

“Bye, Rossi,” Hotch said, but Rossi had already hung up. He raised his eyebrows at JJ, who refused to face him. “For the record, I haven’t dated anyone since Beth.”

“And my humiliation is complete,” JJ murmured. She flung her head back when her own phone rang with Rossi calling. “Nope, now it’s complete. Hey, Rossi.”

“Look, I just talked to Hotch. He’s fine. He should be calling you soon. Gotta go, bye!”

JJ bent over, putting her hands to her face. She gently shook her head back and forth. Hotch gently removed her hands from her face, encouraging her upward. “If it makes you feel any better, it was you that I was staring at every time that Jack caught me at the picture.”

JJ raised one side of her mouth. “It was?”

“I don’t know when it happened, but talking to you has become the highlight of my day. All those months that we were in WITSEC and we weren’t allowed to speak, it felt like something was missing. You were the first call that I made when we left.” Hotch pulled both of her hands into his and took a deep breath. “When you told me about Will, I knew that I had to come back and see.”

“See what?” she whispered, a hint of hope in her voice.

“See if there was a chance for us. Now, if you don’t feel the same way, if you just want to stay my best friend, I’ll do it. But-”

JJ pushed her lips onto his in a kiss that started out sweet and quickly became heated. As her hands began to wander under his shirt, laughter for Henry’s room brought her back to reality and she broke the kiss. “I think there’s a chance for us.”

Hotch laid his forehead against hers and chuckled. “I’m really glad to be home.”

“I’m really glad you’re home, too.”

THE END


End file.
